C
Chris Smith
Guest
- A potential coronavirus treatment received a massive capital infusion from the US government.
- Regeneron’s REGN-COV2 monoclonal antibody drug might both treat COVID-19 patients and prevent infection in healthy individuals.
- The company is running separate treatment and prevention campaigns for the drug, and the clinical trials have reached advanced phases.
- The US government’s $450 million investment would cover tens to hundreds of thousands of doses, which could be ready for emergency use this fall.
The novel coronavirus pandemic is incredibly scary right now. After months of lockdowns and restrictions, the United States is dealing with what appears the be a new peak of the pandemic. Several states have been reporting record numbers of infections after reopening, and the flattening of the curve in these communities isn’t in sight. Things aren’t as bad as they were in March and April, however. Hospitals know the enemy much better than before. They’re better equipped to treat patients, and doctors understand what types of therapies can improve recovery. Even severe cases when patients end up breathing with the help of machines have a better survival rate than before.
The first new drugs to treat the illness are here, but both remdesivir and dexamethasone are imperfect. The former works only in mild cases, can’t reduce mortality, and is in tight supply. The latter is cheap, is effective in severe cases, but doesn’t eliminate the risk of death altogether. There are several other therapies in clinical trials. As more time passes, researchers are getting closer to finding out if their new drugs can kill the virus, and whether they’re safe for patients. It’s not just vaccine candidates that have advanced towards the late stages of testing, but also a different type of medicine, which could save lives and prevent infections even before the vaccines are widely used. And the US government just invested $450 million towards manufacturing doses of one such drug, even before studies are completed.
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US government invested $450M in breakthrough coronavirus drug originally appeared on BGR.com on Wed, 8 Jul 2020 at 18:33:22 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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